Roll over P Diddy, step back Girls Aloud - it's time for Ludwig van Beethoven to regain his role as king of the classroom.

Classical composition, rather than genres such as hip hop and pop, should be the basis of every child's musical education, according to Julian Lloyd Webber. The world-renowned cellist will argue at a major conference in London next month that a child taught the basics of classical music can succeed in any style. But a child who has been taught only hip hop will be able to produce nothing more than hip hop.

'You have to be able to walk before you can run,' Lloyd Webber told The Observer. 'Classical music is the grammar of music; it is the harmony, the melody, the notation. Without knowledge of instruments in an orchestra, how can you write a piece of film music?'

It is wrong for teachers to focus on 'youth music' such as R&B instead of the likes of Mozart or Shostakovich, he will contend, because classical music is the root of all other styles.

The cellist said he was determined to 'win' his debate at the 'State of Play' conference on the future of music education because it would be attended by leading politicians who could influence what was taught in the classroom. Alan Johnson, the Education Secretary, will be among those attending the debate.

Lloyd Webber argued that there was nothing wrong with other types of music if there was time to fit them in, but they were competing with 700 years of classical tradition: 'If pupils leave school knowing nothing about some of mankind's greatest creations, then that is very sad.'

To those who argue children are not enthused by classical music, Lloyd Webber pointed to the success of The Choir, the BBC series that saw the choirmaster Gareth Malone start a school singing group from scratch at a comprehensive in Northolt, west London. His aim was to get the teenagers, who listened to R&B and rap, to sing Vivaldi's Gloria in D Major.

'Before the project they were really turned off to it,' said Malone, who is a choirmaster at the London Symphony Orchestra. 'But being part of a team and making something beautiful opened them up. It does not matter where you are from or who you are - if something is good, you can appreciate it.'

Malone said he agreed with Lloyd Webber that classical music could provide the building blocks for other styles, pointing out that rock star Lenny Kravitz has praised his time in a boys' choir for helping his ability to perform.

But while Lloyd Webber will get support from Malone, others, including the teachers whose job it is to inspire pupils, say he is has got it wrong. 'Music education and teaching methods have to modernise,' said Tina Redford, project manager at MusicLeader North West, an organisation that helps music teachers with their professional development. 'A music leader in a classroom has to have an intrinsic sense of liking and valuing young people, listening to their ideas and responding to them. The only way to do that is to engage with the kind of music they want to make, not what others want to prescribe to them. We are trying to get away from a didactic teaching style and classical music is seen as didactic.'

Something urgently needed to be done, she said, because many teenagers were turning away from music lessons. That is the problem that the conference hopes to tackle.

The 'State of Play' event is part of the 'Music Manifesto' initiative, which has seen interested parties make 69 recommendations to the government about how to revitalise music education.

'We are providing a world-class music education to a minority of children,' said Marc Jaffrey, the former BBC music executive who is championing the manifesto. 'Music is compulsory in the curriculum up to Key Stage 3, we know it is the greatest cultural interest in young people, yet when we get to the point of GCSE choices, only 8 per cent take it.'

Jaffrey said the main recommendations he wanted the government to acknowledge was the proposal to guarantee £59m in annual funding after 2008 and a major commitment to encourage singing in primary schools. He said he wanted an 'ambassador for singing' to help start a rebirth of the activity among younger children.

He contends that all genres of music need to be included in education, and he challenged the critics who wanted to see more children exposed to classical music.

'The question from me to the classical music industry is: what are they doing to challenge and engage children into the repertoire?' he said. 'Where are all the composers writing for teenagers? Where are the musical equivalents of Dr Who or Harry Potter being written? Where is the large-scale vision of engaging millions of children to listen to live orchestras?'

Classical music and me

Claire Rayner, agony aunt'One of my major irritations in life has been pop music, ever since I was a teenager. I have always preferred classical music. I remember first hearing The Magic Flute and nearly dying with delight when I was nearly 12. I put classical music on as background as I write. It goes in through my skin. It is heavenly stuff.'

Katie Derham, ITV newsreader and presenter on Classic FM'I got into classical music because it was around me at home. I started piano lessons when I was five and violin when I was eight. What you learnt then was classical music; I learnt to love Chopin. We do not have a house only full of classical music: my six-year-old daughter has made sure we have Now That's What I Call Music 65 as well. But the two can happily co-exist.'

Gareth Malone, choirmaster in BBC series The Choir'My mum used to sit with a speaker playing the Vivaldi Gloria. She would soothe me to sleep with classical music. She was an amateur musician. I remember singing Beethoven's Choral Symphony with ludicrous words. Classical music is a part of my everyday fabric of life: whatever mood I am in, it offers something that reflects it or enhances it.'